Dark Forest Capital Management LP Invests $8.84 Million in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 27,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,843,000. AppLovin accounts for approximately 1.3% of Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of APP. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 92.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 318,992 shares of the company's stock worth $41,643,000 after buying an additional 153,248 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 6,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter worth $3,211,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co acquired a new position in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter valued at about $228,000. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company's stock.

AppLovin Price Performance

Shares of AppLovin stock traded up $8.95 on Friday, hitting $276.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,766,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,877,453. The company has a market capitalization of $94.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $295.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $299.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 2.41. AppLovin Co. has a 1 year low of $60.67 and a 1 year high of $525.15.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a return on equity of 188.55% and a net margin of 33.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $630.00 to $450.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on AppLovin from $538.00 to $386.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $414.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total value of $64,930,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at $201,675,501.85. This trade represents a 24.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total value of $18,999,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,914,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,230,527,667.32. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 14.69% of the company's stock.

AppLovin Profile

AppLovin Corporation engages in building a software-based platform for advertisers to enhance the marketing and monetization of their content in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Software Platform and Apps. The company's software solutions include AppDiscovery, a marketing software solution, which matches advertiser demand with publisher supply through auctions; MAX, an in-app bidding software that optimizes the value of a publisher's advertising inventory by running a real-time competitive auction; Adjust, a measurement and analytics marketing platform that provides marketers with the visibility, insights, and tools needed to grow their apps from early stage to maturity; and Wurl, a connected TV platform, which distributes streaming video for content companies and provides advertising and publishing solutions through its AdPool, ContentDiscovery, and Global FAST Pass products.